USA soccer
- Thread starter gobigbluebell
- Start date
Group A is light because Qatar is 50th in the world but was in pot 1 so they headline that group followed by Netherlands. The good thing for USA is if they advance they will play a team from group A. Win the group and their knockout rd opponent will be fairly weak.
Pot 1 includes the host country, so only top 7 teams there. Pot 2 is 8-15. US snuck in there at 15.
They put on teams in each pot in a separate bowl. First team from Pool A is Qatar, host country. Next seven are random. Teams from pot 2 are picked randomly, with continent restrictions, so #7 & #8 team ranked teams can be in same 4-teams pool. BUT, no team from same continent can be in same pool except Europe which has more teams, 13 I think, than their are pools, 8.
The number of teams each continent gets is determined by world rankings and/or results in previous WC. Net, they can change every 4 years. Hard for N Am, Central Am, & Caribs to get more than 3 spots with only three big countries in the whole group. 4th is Guatemala at 15M & then Cuba at 12M.
Thats exactly why I made the statement.
Winning Group B could be a major advantage to advancing in the knockout stage.
Very good USA draw. Beat Old Albion & most likely avoid #10 Netherlands. But even that ain't terrible.
As long as Dutch doesn't do this. I spilled my beer when this happened live in 2014......
Best case starting lineup will be very good for USA
Reyna pulisic Weah
Musah
Mckennie Adams
dest Zimmerman Robinson. Robinson
Turner
That’s the 11 I’d roll with. I’m not in love with the 4-3-3 for the tougher matches. It may be more of a 4-2-3-1 against teams who will put pressure games we have difficulty in the midfield. None of us can be sure because we haven’t seen a full squad yet.
Reyna pulisic Weah
Musah
Mckennie Adams
dest Zimmerman Robinson. Robinson
Turner
That’s the 11 I’d roll with. I’m not in love with the 4-3-3 for the tougher matches. It may be more of a 4-2-3-1 against teams who will put pressure games we have difficulty in the midfield. None of us can be sure because we haven’t seen a full squad yet.
In 2010 we had England in our group. Their GK green let an easy one by and it was a 1-1 tie. I remember watching that match with one of my good friends and mentor Tony waiters who took Canadá to their only WC appearance. We lost Tony a little over a year ago. He would have been very happy with Canadá qualifying and their chances in this WC.
Here's a bet. USA isn't going to factor whatsoever in the cup outcome.
Go back to caring about american football.
Go back to caring about american football.
Looks like US will get very favorable viewing times for all 3 of their matches (considering 7 hour time difference between Doha and New York)
All will start at 2pm Eastern.
No 5am starts, thankfully!
All will start at 2pm Eastern.
No 5am starts, thankfully!
Lol. Too bad it’ll be on some Jamaican channel that most can’t get….
I don't think there's anything thankfully about it. It's eyes on the screen that count to FIFA like any other $ making activity..
So what? What are you gonna watch? UK or USA? You think anyone will give a shit to go to the game in London. Let’s say it’s England playing in our spot? It’s a terrible move to schedule that game in Europe with the WC going on. But you get lost on the little things. Done with you bc you have 1 point of view and are clueless to the world
Oh I disagree, while I can understand FIFA wanting to have it largest audiences have their matches in prime time for their time zone.
I can also remember getting up before dawn to watch the US matches in the South African World Cup where the time difference was slightly less
I believe the match times are determined even before the draw. Determined by your position number within the group.
I didn't bring up UK playing FB in London. You did. But I'd watch UK FB in real time vs. USA in WC. About the only team I would do such for.
Glad you're done with me. Life is good.
Maybe so. But soccer in USA way bigger (on TV) today than in 2010, so not a valid comparison for me.
I think the US got about as good a draw as could have been hoped; I thought Brazil, France and to a lesser extent Spain were best avoided. We matched up better with Portugal and it seems to me Argentina's run the last two plus years has been a little on the backs of the underbelly of CONMEBOL. Truth be told I wanted to be in the same group as Belgium. No matter if they advance as winning or running up in Group B, they still manage to avoid Pot 1 squads. France would possibly be in the Quarters.
...it will be fascinating to see what the USMNT has in it's makeup vs. what was on the field in WCQ in CONCACAF. They didn't have the core of Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie and Dest together at all throughout. Musah was a late roster addition and proved indispensible even at 19 years old. The USMNT as it appears today is the youngest squad in the World Cup, and by a good two years on average. There are going to be some prominent club moves from some who are on the perimeter--notably Aaronson who made some serious money with how he performed against Bayern in the home leg of Salzburg's tie in the knockout round of the Champion's League's Round of 16. He realistically will be at Leeds United and have Premier League minutes under his belt when he dons the colors in Qatar. Yunus Musah seems a good bet to have a better situation as well--his making the starting 11 at Valencia has been no sure thing, but they are well out of the Relegation zone in La Liga. Others like Chris Richards at Hoffenheim knocking on Champions League qualification and Jedi Robinson--whose Fulham will likely be back in the EPL by then--should be in more competitive club situations. Joe Scally has an opportunity to break into the USMNT much like Aaronson having gained notoriety for his performances against Bayern. Much has been made of Adams' seeming descent at Leipzig but I'd offer an alternative situation...he's no longer being coached by one of the best coaches in Europe anymore with Nagelsman now at Bayern. There is no question he raises his game for the US and it's a little scary how much he is relied on. It's daunting that Ricardo Pepi at Augsburg and Josh Sargeant at Norwich sit in the relegation zone of their leagues and they are joined in the category of "Bad club transfers for American Forwards" with Hoppe at Mallorca who is going to get relegated. Pepi's squad made a big step this weekend beating Wolfsburg and he played a role and his seasoning between now and November is critical. I think for what Berhalter sees as his ideal 9 Sargeant would be the best fit...but he has gone two years getting zero service and is played largely out of position with Norwich as a RW. You have a whole squad of really young kids whose career arc is looking up...in that context seven to eight months is an eternity to see overall roster improvement.
...if healthy I believe we will go into the World Cup seeing the emergence of the first truly World Class American attacker in Gio Reyna. You see flashes of things from him every time he takes the field that we haven't seen from an American before now. He is the poster child for Bruce Arena's compliment of Clint Dempsey being somebody who "tries s^&t". We've never seen that combination of imagination and pure skill on the ball. One area where the US was unquestionably deficient vs. it's predecessors was in dead ball situations...corners and free kick service were very inconsistent since the Nation's League and in large part it was due to Reyna's not being there and the inconsistency as to whether McKennie was there or not.
...it will be fascinating to see what the USMNT has in it's makeup vs. what was on the field in WCQ in CONCACAF. They didn't have the core of Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie and Dest together at all throughout. Musah was a late roster addition and proved indispensible even at 19 years old. The USMNT as it appears today is the youngest squad in the World Cup, and by a good two years on average. There are going to be some prominent club moves from some who are on the perimeter--notably Aaronson who made some serious money with how he performed against Bayern in the home leg of Salzburg's tie in the knockout round of the Champion's League's Round of 16. He realistically will be at Leeds United and have Premier League minutes under his belt when he dons the colors in Qatar. Yunus Musah seems a good bet to have a better situation as well--his making the starting 11 at Valencia has been no sure thing, but they are well out of the Relegation zone in La Liga. Others like Chris Richards at Hoffenheim knocking on Champions League qualification and Jedi Robinson--whose Fulham will likely be back in the EPL by then--should be in more competitive club situations. Joe Scally has an opportunity to break into the USMNT much like Aaronson having gained notoriety for his performances against Bayern. Much has been made of Adams' seeming descent at Leipzig but I'd offer an alternative situation...he's no longer being coached by one of the best coaches in Europe anymore with Nagelsman now at Bayern. There is no question he raises his game for the US and it's a little scary how much he is relied on. It's daunting that Ricardo Pepi at Augsburg and Josh Sargeant at Norwich sit in the relegation zone of their leagues and they are joined in the category of "Bad club transfers for American Forwards" with Hoppe at Mallorca who is going to get relegated. Pepi's squad made a big step this weekend beating Wolfsburg and he played a role and his seasoning between now and November is critical. I think for what Berhalter sees as his ideal 9 Sargeant would be the best fit...but he has gone two years getting zero service and is played largely out of position with Norwich as a RW. You have a whole squad of really young kids whose career arc is looking up...in that context seven to eight months is an eternity to see overall roster improvement.
...if healthy I believe we will go into the World Cup seeing the emergence of the first truly World Class American attacker in Gio Reyna. You see flashes of things from him every time he takes the field that we haven't seen from an American before now. He is the poster child for Bruce Arena's compliment of Clint Dempsey being somebody who "tries s^&t". We've never seen that combination of imagination and pure skill on the ball. One area where the US was unquestionably deficient vs. it's predecessors was in dead ball situations...corners and free kick service were very inconsistent since the Nation's League and in large part it was due to Reyna's not being there and the inconsistency as to whether McKennie was there or not.
Speaking of soccer, did anyone see the singing of Imagine by two women (I think women) at the intro of the Serie A Juventus-Inter match last night? Awesome. Polish keeper Szczesny in (near) tears. Me too. Teams & refs lined up with interlocking arms.
https://football-italia.net/ukrainian-singer-performs-imagine-ahead-of-juventus-inter/
https://football-italia.net/ukrainian-singer-performs-imagine-ahead-of-juventus-inter/
I don't think Sargent is in bad transfer category. He is racking up minutes, playing regularly, even if out of position. His coach likes him. I think he has been "in-form". I just don't trust Berhalter to see it.
No one should have their position sewn up as no one has played consistent throughout qualifying.
No one should have their position sewn up as no one has played consistent throughout qualifying.
UK Men's Soccer left Conference USA; now competing in Sunbelt Conference.
The nine teams will include: James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and South Carolina.
Cats won C-USA tournament championship last season.
The nine teams will include: James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and South Carolina.
Cats won C-USA tournament championship last season.
I hope Berhalter experiments with using Reyna as a "False 9." We have plenty of talent in the midfield and need to get Reyna on the field as much as possible. He can be flanked by Pulisic and Weah up top. I really liked what I saw from Hoppe when he got in. He had some panache. Hope he gets his club situation sorted out.
Seems like a decent conference, TBH. We should begin a "Hillbilly Derby" rivalry with WVU. Also, I still find it criminal that UK hasn't merchandised the men's soccer kits. They look sharp AF.
Wow. How things have changed? I remember when Middle Tennessee joined the Sunbelt with the likes of North Texas and Idaho. Lol.
The False 9 is a tough fit for Weah and Reyna; Reyna is the type of player that has get on the ball and be involved in the channels and his creativity in half turns and in the open field is taken away if he is playing at striker or as a False 9. Weah is the same way on the wings; his greatest strengths are going right at an outside back and setting up dangerous crosses like the one he had against Mexico in Cincinnati.
Sargeant and Ferreira are about as False 9ish as we have had in our pool in over a decade; players very comfortable dropping down into almost midfield to connect. And Ferreira is not only playing it in a Dallas FC system not dissimilar to Berhalter's "on paper" vision, he is playing it very well. All of the times I remember Weah in particular playing at the 9 when he was with the U20 World Cup he loses his ability to take on defenders when he has his back to goal; Reyna goes schizo if he has to wait on the ball.
I think C-USA had a big turnover of schools with some moving to Sun Belt.
That part of the world along with the Middle East, and places in Africa better Imagine peace because the strong will slaughter the weak. They have for 5000 years. Sad but true.
Most teams won’t have a player to play a”false 9” at this level. The USA certainly doesn’t have that type of player and doesn’t need it. Even a 4-3-3 in the wc will be a stretch. Usa has a team of midfielders. They should be playing a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 which can convert to a 4-3-3 when they can apply pressure. What usa needs to find is a strong target player who stays high. Weah needs to stay wide he’s not a central player. Right now the USA needs to focus on finding a target player who can hold the ball. Ferreiras abilities on the national team will nate diminished compared to mls. With McKenzie the USA doesn’t need it and it would be like hammering a square peg into a little round hole.
^ Imagine all the 6-3 9's we'd have that are playing guard in the NBA instead.
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